


Pre-Dawn Waves

by pezzainwonderland



Category: The Society (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-05-31 16:23:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19429696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pezzainwonderland/pseuds/pezzainwonderland
Summary: Sam loved humans.He liked to watch them, admire them, envy them. Becca often warned him about getting too close, told him horror stories about what they would do to creatures like him - what they did to the animals living amongst them - but Sam always brushed off her concerns.He wasn’t an idiot. He wasn’t about toapproachany of them. He just liked to look.There was one man in particular that he liked. He was taller than the others, with pale skin and long, dark hair - a striking contrast that had initially caught his eye...Or, alternately: mermaid!sam au that absolutely no one asked for.





	1. Chapter 1

Sam loved humans.

He liked to watch them, admire them, envy them. Becca often warned him about getting too close, told him horror stories about what they would do to creatures like him - what they did to the animals living amongst them - but Sam always brushed off her concerns.

He wasn’t an idiot. He wasn’t about to _approach_ any of them. He just liked to look.

There was one man in particular that he liked. He was taller than the others, with pale skin and long, dark hair - a striking contrast that had initially caught his eye. He came to the bay often with three others, hauling boards along with them that they would drag out into the water.

It was weird, this hobby of theirs. They would paddle out on their boards, diving under waves to get out further and further from the safety of the shore, and then they would huddle together to wait until a particularly large swell appeared on the horizon, at which point they would each take turns racing and riding the tide.

Sam didn’t particularly understand it - it seemed a bit stupid, to him. Dangerous, considering none of them could breathe underwater.

But, at the same time, it looked thrilling, and perhaps that was the appeal.

Sam would sit for hours, tucked away behind a nearby buoy, to watch the dark haired stranger and his friends on the days they showed up.

Those were the best days.

Sure, it was charming to watch little ones play in the sand, or in the shallows, but that got old quickly.

And, sure, he would sit and watch other surfers (Becca had called them that, once, when he’d asked her about it) too, but it wasn’t the same.

He wasn’t nearly as invested in what they did - they weren’t as interesting.

“He’s going to see you,” Becca signed one day when he returned, popping by her place rather than heading straight home. He always preferred to stay at Becca’s, if he could. Home felt more like a prison than anything else.

Becca was expecting him, and the look on her face was one of stern disapproval.

He’d told her about the man soon after the first time he’d seen him - after Sam had spent over a week straight waiting around the bay, hoping he’d turn up again and again. It was normal for Sam to pop in now and then, on lazy days when he had no other responsibilities, but going every single day, for hours at a time, had been strange, even for him, and Becca had started asking questions.

Now, whenever Sam disappeared for hours on end at the crack of dawn, Becca knew where he was, and she knew that it meant his boy had shown up.

Sam wrinkled his nose playfully, “I’m being careful,” he assured her, “Besides, doesn’t matter if he sees me in the water - this,” he gestured to himself from the waist up, “looks just like him from a distance.”

Well.

Maybe not _exactly_ like him.

“You should come with me tomorrow,” Sam suggested, “It’s fun. They’re nice to look at,” he grinned.

She’d come with him just once, and only for a few minutes, because she’d been curious to see the human man that her friend was so enamoured with. She’d been underwhelmed, pointing out that there were men in their village who were much more attractive than that.

_Obtainable_ men. She’d made sure to drive that point home.

Becca rolled her eyes, “They’re morons,” she scoffed, “You should hear the things they say. It’s disgusting.”

Sam raised his hands to make a joke about that fact that hearing them would be impossible, for him, but Becca knew him well and immediately held up a hand to stop him.

“Don’t,” she warned, “You know what I mean! Smart ass.”

He smirked, “Well, luckily for you, you don’t have to talk to them. We’re just looking.”

Becca narrowed her eyes, “This is unhealthy, you know,” she murmured, hands forming the words while she spoke, moving gently through the water.

“You’re being dramatic,” Sam scoffed, shaking his head.

“I’m serious - I don’t want you to get hurt,” she insisted, eyeing him worriedly, “You’re gonna get attached, and then what?”

Sam appreciated her concern, he really did - he was touched by it, and he offered her a soft smile, “I won’t,” he promised, “I don’t even know him. I just…” he shrugged, trying to find the right way to explain what, exactly, he was doing, but it all sounded weird and, well…

Yeah. Unhealthy.

“He’s just interesting, that’s all. The novelty will wear off eventually,” he assured her.

It had to, didn’t it? There was no other way this could play out. He would never be able to interact with the man, so, they would never be able to actually meet. There was no progression beyond this point - beyond Sam simply admiring him from afar.

It would get old. Eventually, the dark haired stranger would stop being so new and exciting.

And things would go back to the way they were.

“Campbell was looking for you,” Becca revealed, and Sam’s blood ran cold.

“Why?”

She gave a little shrug, “He didn’t say. Probably best not to keep him waiting too long, though - just in case…”

Sam swallowed, nodding.

Campbell was the sort of creature that humans wrote horror stories about - the myths about sea people who dragged sailors to their deaths and consumed human flesh were based on encounters with monsters like Campbell.

Campbell was the reason why Sam needed those little moments to escape - why he liked to observe humans so much and dream about what it would be like to be able to really, truly escape.

To just… _walk_ ashore where his brother couldn’t follow and never come back.

It was a fantasy and nothing more, but, sometimes, it felt like the only thing that kept him going.

“You didn’t tell him…?” Sam ventured cautiously.

Becca looked appalled at the mere suggestion, “God, no. I would never.”

Sam breathed a sigh of relief, “Where was I?” he asked, wanting to be certain that their stories coincided before he went to talk to face his brother.

“Fishing,” Becca told him sheepishly.

Sam pointedly held out his very much empty hands, “ _Fishing_?!”

“I’m sorry! It was the first thing that came to mind!”

“I don’t have any fish!”

“So you had an off day - “

“I was gone for hours!”

Becca wrung her hands together, “I’m _sorry_ ,” she signed again, “He snuck up on me - I panicked. We can go now and find some. It’ll be fine.”

Sam shook his head, but conceded, “We need to come up with a better cover story.”

“ _Or_ you could stop sneaking off to spy on the humans. You know I hate to agree with Campbell on anything, but _this_ …” she sighed, “You’re playing with fire.”

He knew she was right, but it wasn’t the humans he was worried about. The real danger, in Sam’s eyes, was Campbell himself - what he would do if he found out where Sam was really going.

No one hated humans quite the way Campbell did. He loathed them. He had no qualms about hurting them - _killing_ them. Their lives meant nothing to him. In his eyes, they were at war, despite the fact that humans knew nothing of their existence outside of fairy tales. Campbell wasn’t interested in sharing the ocean with their kind.

He certainly wouldn’t be understanding of his brother’s interest in them.

Becca was right - Sam needed to be careful.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And yet, again the following morning, Sam found himself at the bay, watching the sun peek over the horizon while he waited for the dark haired stranger and his friends to appear.

At least, Sam _hoped_ he would appear.

His fingers twitched in anticipation as he peered around his usual buoy, watching as the familiar vehicle pulled up near the shore. Three men piled out, none of which were the one he was waiting for, and Sam deflated.

Where was he?

He _always_ came with them. The four always came together, save for the odd time when Sam’s boy and the sandy-haired blonde would come together - just the two of them.

On those mornings, the boys spent more time talking and lazing about in the water than they did surfing, which was intriguing. Sam always wished he could move closer, to see what was being shared between them.

Those two, in particular, had an intimacy between them that the tall, dark haired stranger didn’t have with the others. He was different around that one - more at ease. More comfortable.

Even Sam could see it.

He’d wondered, on one such morning, as he watched the pair converse while they sunned themselves on their boards, if they were together.

But they never touched, or played, or kissed the way lovers did. Just talked.

As the trio grabbed their boards and made their way to the water, Sam sighed in disappointment. He folded his arms on the base of the buoy and rested his chin on top of the pillow they created, watching as the men paddled out into the water.

They made it about halfway before another, similar vehicle (except smaller and dirtier) careened into the parking lot, drawing Sam’s attention back toward the shore.

He straightened up, beaming, when his boy climbed out of the driver’s seat, brushing his hair back off of his face as he climbed up to retrieve his board off of the top of the vehicle. Instinctively, Sam drifted forward, moving along the side of the buoy to get a better look as the dark haired man tugged his shirt over his head, setting it aside along with his shoes before he hurried out to join his friends, who had paused to wait for him.

The boys were joking around when their friend joined them. Judging solely by their body language, Sam got the distinct impression that they were giving him a hard time about his tardiness.

His boy laughed, sitting up on his board and splashing his friends playfully, and Sam grinned with him.

He had a sweet smile - charming and kind. Sam liked it. He wished he could see it better.

He found himself wishing he’d smile at _him_ like that.

It did not occur to him in the moment, while he was caught up in such a smile, that it may not have been a good thing that he was close enough to see it in such detail. It did not occur to him that the boys were in much closer proximity to his buoy than usual.

It did not occur to him that this was a problem.

Until, of course, it became one.

He’d been watching for a while, and each boy had, respectively, caught a few waves before Sam’s chosen favourite spotted him.

He was paddling back out to rejoin the others when he sat up, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes as he squinted in Sam’s direction.

Sam gasped and, like an idiot, ducked behind the buoy.

Maybe he hadn’t been looking at him at all - maybe he’d seen something on the horizon.

Slowly, hopefully, Sam glanced back over his shoulder, hoping he’d see _something_ of interest behind him that might’ve caught the man’s eye - something other than him.

There was nothing.

When Sam turned back around, the man was coming closer still, rapidly closing the distance between them.

He was shouting something, and Sam cursed himself for not just _swimming away while he had the chance_.

The man had definitely seen him now.

Sam was frozen.

As the surfer came closer, Sam noticed two things:

First, he noted that he was far more beautiful up close - big, sturdy, and adorably freckled with a strong jaw and soft, _green_ eyes.

And second, he was asking if Sam needed help.

“Hey, you alright?” he called again, his dark brow furrowed his concern.

Sam nodded his head quickly, hurriedly tucking his tail up against the bottom surface of the buoy so that it wouldn’t be noticeable beneath the water.

The man quirked an eyebrow, “...you sure? You’re kinda out in the middle of nowhere,” he ventured, peering around - looking for something.

A boat, perhaps. Or a board like his own.

Something that would make Sam’s presence out here, this deep into the ocean without any form of floatation, make sense.

Because of course this must look weird to him - it _was_ weird, for a human. Which was, of course, what this man assumed Sam was because why would he ever assume any differently?

And Sam was most definitely an idiot, because he just _nodded again_.

“Uh...okay…” the stranger blinked, giving him an odd, uncertain look, “Did you get caught in a rip or something? I can tow you back in,” he offered and, while it was so very charming that he wouldn’t just leave Sam behind, Sam really, really wished he would, because he had no idea how he was going to convince the other man that he was okay.

“No, I was just...swimming,” Sam spoke aloud, finally - and thank God, because it was getting fucking weird that he wasn’t saying anything. His hands habitually fluttered to create signs for his words while he continued, “My friends have a boat just around the bluff over there - “ he gestured vaguely behind him.

The man looked surprised when Sam spoke, which Sam expected. Campbell had often made sure to point out that his voice sounded weird to those who were able to hear it.

He then glanced in the direction Sam had pointed, “Ah,” he nodded, “Cool. You must be one hell of a swimmer,” he smiled, and Sam couldn’t help but be a bit elated that he was smiling _at him_.

Something that he’d never thought would happen.

Sam smiled in return and gave a modest shrug, “I’m alright,” he grinned.

The man extended his hand, then, being careful not too lean to far, lest he tip his board, “I’m Grizz.”

Sam’s brow quirked at the odd name. For a second, he thought he’d misread it, “Grizz?” he repeated, just to be sure.

The man - _Grizz_ \- laughed, “Yeah, it a, uh...it’s a nickname.”

Sam mouthed a silent, “Oh,” of understanding, despite the fact that he didn’t really understand at all, but Grizz wasn’t really offering any more information than that.

It took Sam a moment before he remembered that Grizz had held out his hand, and that this was a thing humans did, and he hastily reached to clasp the other man’s hand in his, “Sam,” he introduced in return, apparently holding onto Grizz’s hand for a bit too long.

Granted, Sam didn’t really know how long he was _supposed_ to hold it, but, eventually, Grizz subtly and carefully slid his hand free with an uncertain chuckle. To his credit, he did it as politely as he could manage, which Sam appreciated.

Sam flushed, “Sorry,” he muttered, because he’d obviously made Grizz uncomfortable.

“Oh, don’t be - it’s all good,” Grizz assured him quickly, “No worries.”

“Okay,” Sam smiled.

He couldn’t believe this was happening. His heart was pounding wildly in his chest, partially from excitement, partially from fear and anxiety because he was within mere feet of a human - one wrong move, one curious glance, away from discovery.

Not just any human - _the_ human. The human he’d been watching and fantasizing about for weeks now.

It was exhilarating.

“Are they coming to get you?”

Sam had missed part of what he’d said, “What?”

“Sorry - are your friends gonna come get you?” he repeated, being sure to talk deliberately so that Sam would be able to understand him.

“Oh! No - I’ll just swim back,” Sam said casually, waving off the question.

Grizz’s brows shot up, “Seriously?”

Was that the wrong thing to say? Was that weird?

“Yes…?” Sam confirmed cautiously.

“Wow,” Grizz blinked, “Impressive.”

Sam beamed proudly.

Grizz suddenly glanced back toward his friends, and Sam followed his gaze to see one of the darker haired boys was yelling something.

He turned his attention back to Grizz, who appeared to say he was ‘coming,’ before he looked back toward Sam, “I gotta go,” he informed him, “Maybe I’ll see you around…?” he ventured and, if Sam didn’t know any better, he might’ve thought he looked a bit hopeful.

But perhaps that was just wishful thinking.

Sam nodded, “Maybe,” he agreed.

“Cool,” Grizz smiled, “It was nice meeting you, Sam. Lemme know if you change your mind about that tow in.”

He turned his board, then, and began paddling back over to where his friends where impatiently waiting.

“Will do,” Sam murmured, despite the fact that Grizz was well out of earshot.

Biting his lip to hold back his smile, Sam released his hold on the buoy and allowed himself to drift back, watching Grizz for a moment longer before he turned to swim toward the bluff.

He waited until he was around the corner before he dove back below the surface.


	2. Chapter 2

“That's it - you're cut off,” Becca signed with finality when Sam told her about what had happened.

He hadn’t been able to keep the dreamy smile off of his face the entire way back to the village and, as soon as she’d seen him, Becca had grinned and demanded to know what had him in such a good mood.

That smile, however, had immediately dissipated when he’d told her.

Sam frowned, “What? Why?”

“ _Seriously?!_ He _saw_ you - I told you he’d see you!”

“But he doesn’t know anything! It went fine - everything’s fine!”

“You got lucky,” Becca snapped, “He’ll notice next time, or the time after that. And then what? You watch - he’ll be back with a fucking net.”

Sam shook his head with a scoff, “He wouldn’t do that.”

“Oh my God - you don’t _know him_ , Sam!” Her hands were moving frantically, now, in sharp, agitated movements, “He _would_ , and he _will_.”

Sam averted his gaze, jaw clenched stubbornly.

He knew it was crazy to assume he knew who this man was when they’d only shared a single, brief conversation, but he just didn’t want to believe that Grizz would do something like that. He’d tried to help him - he’d paddled out to save him. He’d been nothing but kind to him.

Kind, playful, and understanding.

He didn’t want to think that this man whom he’d built up so much in his mind was capable of that level of cruelty.

Becca drifted closer and rested her hand on his arm.

Begrudgingly, Sam looked up at her so that she could say her piece.

“You can’t go back, Sam,” she murmured sympathetically, signing as best as she could with her free hand while she rubbed his arm soothingly with the other, “You can’t risk it.”

Sam knew she was right - of course she was. Becca was _always_ right. Becca had this grasp on reality that Sam sometimes lacked. Sam wanted to believe in good, he wanted to have hope - _always_ hope, because, sometimes, hope for something better was all he had.

Living with someone like Campbell meant that Sam needed hope to survive.

Sam swallowed, then gave a nod.

“I mean it. Promise me,” she insisted.

He didn’t want to.

“I promise,” he signed, defeated.

Becca took his hand and squeezed it. It was a halfhearted sort of comfort, and Sam didn’t _want_ to be angry with Becca because he knew that she was only trying to keep him safe but, at the same time, he felt like he was being treated like a child - like she thought he was incapable of setting boundaries for himself.

As though he wouldn’t know when to pull back without her to tell him so.

If he ever felt like he was putting himself or anyone he cared about at risk by going to watch Grizz, he would stop. Of course he would. Becca and his people came first - he would never do anything to endanger them.

But he just...wasn’t at that point yet. The moment he’d had with Grizz had gone _so well_. It had _worked_ , somehow, and now he’d gotten a taste of forbidden fruit, and he wanted so much more.

He wasn’t ready to give it up.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To his credit, Sam stayed away from the bay for a while after that.  
  
He’d made a promise to Becca and, beyond that, he knew that there was logic behind what she was saying. Risking his life to see boy he could never have was absolutely insane - he _knew_ that.  
  
But seeing Grizz, visiting the bay, watching the surfers, was about so much more than just admiring a beautiful boy from afar. It was about escaping the life he had - it was about a fantasy.  
  
Sam knew he could never have anything like what those humans had, but when he would go to the bay, he could get lost in a different world for a little while. It was a reprieve from the harsh circumstances he’d been born in to.  
  
Sam had always been different and, while his parents had always accepted him and accomodated him, his brother had always been cruel and jealous of the attention Sam seemed to receive. He would always go out of his way to ensure that Sam knew that he was different, that he was broken, that he didn’t belong - that no one in their right mind would ever want someone like him.  
  
Sometimes, on darker days, it was hard not to believe him.  
  
After their parents had been killed by careless fishermen some years ago, Campbell had only gotten worse. He’d become possessive - protective to a horrible fault. He became convinced that he was the only person who cared about Sam, who could keep him from meeting the same fate as their parents.  
  
As if he really cared…  
  
For a while, fear had allowed Sam to believe him - to believe that, maybe, he was safest with the ruthless Campbell. In time, however, Sam came to realize that what Campbell was doing wasn’t about love or protection at all.  
  
It was about control.  
  
Sam had become a prisoner in his own home, and, when he’d started to rebel against it, Campbell had become violent. He had to know where Sam was going, with whom, and, when he didn’t, he would be punishingly unforgiving once Sam returned home.  
  
There were many reasons why going to the bay was dangerous.  
  
Campbell was one of them.  
  
But he was also the exact reason why Sam felt that he _needed_ to go in the first place.  
  
The idea of giving up one of the few things that made him happy was daunting.  
  
Sam managed to stay away for just over a week.  
  
And he’d been absolutely miserable.  
  
So, on a morning when Sam felt like he was going to go crazy if he didn’t get a moment away from his mundane routine, Sam told Campbell that he was going to fish and then to Becca’s, and made his way back toward the familiar bay.  
  
It was a particularly rough surf that day. The wind was up, the sky was partially clouded and, when Sam glanced out to sea, it was clear to him that there was a storm on the horizon.  
  
He wondered is Grizz and his friends would still come.  
  
He hoped they would.  
  
As badly as Sam wanted to talk to Grizz again, he knew that that would be pushing his luck. If he did come, Sam needed to ensure that he remained hidden this time and that he maintained a safe distance between them.  
  
He’d had his moment. He could be happy with that.  
  
To ask for anything more would be far too greedy.  
  
He was just beginning to lose hope when their vehicle pulled up, and Sam breathed a sigh of relief, settling into place against the buoy - carefully hidden - to watch.  
  
Grizz peered out over the water while the others retrieved their boards from the back of the vehicle, eyes surveying the surf and the surrounding area for a brief moment before he, too, moved in to grab his board before the group abandoned their clothing and headed toward the choppy water.  
  
The boys took a little longer than usual to paddle out, the water a bit rougher than that last time Sam had been there to watch them. They didn’t seem concerned, however, so Sam wasn’t worried for them.  
  
They had time before the storm would hit - he was sure that they must have thought of this before they made the decision to come.  
  
They surfed without incident for a while but, as time went on, the water became relentless, and the boys had more and more difficulty paddling back out after each wave they rode. Sam glanced back to see the blackened clouds drawing nearer, and he began to get nervous.  
  
Surely they’d noticed that the storm was mere minutes away.  
  
Surely they would head for the safety of the shore sooner rather than later.  
  
As if they’d somehow read his mind, two of the boys began paddling in, catching waves as they went and allowing them to help carry them in.  
  
Grizz and another of the darker haired men - the taller one, the one who was nearly the same size as Grizz - stayed behind, presumably to each catch one last wave to take them in, respectively.  
  
The other man took the first one, which left Grizz out in the water by himself.  
  
Sam shook his head, hoping Grizz would maybe make the smarter decision and just paddle in like the other two had.  
  
But Sam glanced toward the shallows and say the other man standing knee deep, shouting out to Grizz, egging him on.  
  
Sam didn’t really like that one.  
  
Sam saw the wave the same time Grizz did, and his heart hammered in his chest because it was _big_ \- the biggest he’d seen him face, and from the moment Grizz started paddling, Sam just _knew_ that this wasn’t going to work.  
  
His stomach dropped when Grizz fell, and Sam watched in horror as the wave crashed on top of him, snapping his board in two.  
  
Immediately, without a second thought, Sam dove beneath the surface and sped toward where he’d seen him fall. The water was muddy, but Sam was accustomed to that, and he could make out a lifeless form floating in the distance.  
  
As Sam drew closer to where Grizz was drifting out with the tide, he could see blood swirling eerily in the water around him. Without hesitation, Sam swam up beneath him, tucking his arms underneath the other man’s to haul him away from the impact zone and back toward the surface.  
  
He wanted to resurface somewhere hidden from the eyes of Grizz’s friends, for his own sake, but he knew that Grizz couldn’t remain underwater much longer. He needed air - he’d already been under for too long, unconscious, taking in salt water.  
  
So, Sam took a risk, and he pushed Grizz up ahead of him as the pair breached the surface.  
  
The storm had come quickly, and rain and hail came pelting down from the clouds above, the angry ocean illuminated now and then by lightning.  
  
For Sam, it was a blessing, because the turmoil and the darkness would make it hard for Grizz’s companions to see him.  
  
For Grizz and his friends, it was bad. Sam could see the three figures on the beach, frantically wading out as far as they dared, yelling desperately for their friend.  
  
One of them - the lighter haired one whom Grizz was closest to - had a device held up to his ear and was speaking hurriedly into it.  
  
Sam couldn’t get Grizz back to shore. There was no way for him to safely do it and remain hidden himself. The boys would see him if he hauled their friend back to them.  
  
And Sam certainly couldn’t let Grizz go. He wasn’t conscious - even if he did come to, he would be disoriented. He was hurt. He would never make it to shore on his own.  
  
Sam wasn’t about to leave him to die.  
  
So, he made a choice. He would haul Grizz to safety elsewhere, out of sight of his friends. Once Grizz was safely out of the water, once he’d come to and Sam could be sure he was alright, someone would come looking for him.  
  
His friends would find him.  
  
Sam would make sure of that.  
  
Grizz was heavy and, even with his powerful tail, Sam was struggling to haul him through the choppy, aggressive water. It didn’t help that he had to stay at surface level - it would’ve been so much easier if he could dive below all of the turmoil.  
  
Sam knew the bay well - he knew this area like the back of his hand - and he knew that there was a cave-like rock formation just toward the point of the bluff that could be reached when the tide was high enough.  
  
Sam would be able to get him there.  
  
He could figure the rest out later - once Grizz was safe.  
  
When Sam went to heft Grizz up on to the ledge, he was taken aback when the other man reached up to help haul himself up. Sam hadn’t realized he was awake - maybe he’d just come to…  
  
Either way, Sam wasn’t prepared to face him. He hadn’t expected him to wake before they’d reached safety. He wasn’t expecting to have to explain any of this to him.  
  
Once he was up, Grizz turned to reach back to help Sam, “Gimme your hand - I can pull you up.”  
  
Sam swallowed and shook his head.  
  
Grizz looked terrified, and confused, “What do you mean ‘no?’ Give me your hand, Sam!” “I’m fine,” Sam insisted, “I’ll go get help - “  
  
“You’ll fucking drown!”  
  
“I won’t!”  
  
“ _Sam_ \- “  
  
The thing was that sometimes, when he was angry or frustrated, Sam could be a bit impulsive. He would get irritated, and he would act without thinking about the consequences, or about tact.  
  
So, when he clenched his jaw and hauled himself up out of the water, he really, _really_ wasn’t thinking about anything other than proving his point.  
  
Until, of course, Grizz recoiled from the edge, putting as much distance between them about he could in the small, enclosed space, “Jesus fucking Christ - what the _fuck_?!”  
  
“Don’t freak out,” Sam insisted, immediately regretting his actions and realizing the gravity of his mistake.  
  
“Right, because _that’s_ how this works,” Grizz snapped, “What the _fuck_!”  
  
“Stop saying that - “  
  
“I’m concussed,” Grizz continued, his gaze fixating on nothing in particular as he tried to sort through his own thoughts - tried to process what he was seeing. He was talking to himself more than Sam, now, “I’m concussed and you’re some sort of hallucination I’ve come up with to help me cope with my imminent drowning - “  
  
“You’re not concussed.”  
  
“ _Fuck_ , am I already dead? I am, aren’t I?”  
  
“What? No,“ Sam frowned, “Just take a deep breath. Try to relax.”  
  
“ _Relax_? You’re a, uh...a - “  
  
“Please don’t say it.”  
  
“Are you a mermaid?”  
  
Sam visibly flinched.  
  
Grizz, somehow, despite his own crisis, managed to look worried that he’d said the wrong thing, “Is that offensive? Is that, like...a derogatory term or something?”  
  
Sam’s frown deepened as he tried to keep up with Grizz’s scattered thought process and wildly fluctuating mood. He shook his head, at a loss, “I have no idea what you’re saying - you’re talking too fast.”  
  
Grizz shut his eyes tightly, taking a deep breath, “You’re not real,” he murmured.  
  
Sam sighed, tentatively reaching out to touch the other man’s leg.  
  
Grizz jumped, eyes flying open again.  
  
Sam offered a sympathetic smile, “I am,” he assured him, “I know it’s a lot…”  
  
“You could say that, yeah,” Grizz nodded, swallowing, “I mean...I guess in some fucked up pseudo-logical sort of way this makes sense, y’know? There’s a huge chunk of the ocean that we haven’t explored, right - you probably come from somewhere out there. I mean, _obviously_ you do - but I mean, like, _way_ out there. Somewhere we haven’t been, right? That would make sense, I guess. It was naive to assume there wouldn’t be intelligent life down there somewhere. Like aliens.”  
  
Again, Sam was struggling to keep up, “You talk a lot,” he pointed out with a smirk, “And I’m not an alien.”  
  
Grizz rolled his eyes, “I never _said_ you were an alien - I likened your existence to the probable existence of aliens. There’s a difference. I’m just saying: vast, unexplored expanses are bound to house intelligent life forms.”  
  
“...maybe you _are_ concussed,” Sam mused teasingly.  
  
“It’s not funny! I’m having, like...an existential crisis,” he snapped, clearly not quite in the mood to be teased just yet, “And my head fucking hurts…”  
  
Sam frowned, glancing up at the cut along his hairline, “Can I take a look…?” he ventured, gesturing to the wound.  
  
Grizz looked Sam over with narrowed, uncertain eyes, swallowing thickly. Sam watched as he shifted, almost instinctively, a bit further away from where Sam sat upon the rocks, as though the very idea of letting him get any closer, for any reason, was too unnerving to consider.  
  
Sam felt a sharp twinge in his chest at that.  
  
It had never, not once, occurred to him that Grizz might be _afraid_ of him.  
  
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he promised gently.  
  
“How do I know that?” the other man countered.  
  
“I could’ve let you drown,” Sam reminded him.  
  
Grizz considered that, eyes flicking to glance at Sam’s tail, fixating on it for a moment. Sam couldn’t help but notice that his head tilted ever so slightly, and his features softened in interest as he stared, mesmerized.  
  
“Grizz?” Sam prompted gently.  
  
Grizz met his gaze once again and, after a brief moment of consideration, he gave a nod of consent.  
  
Sam did his best to scoot a little closer on his own, but it was sort of humiliating to try to move on land with someone like Grizz watching him. He’d never done it with an audience before.  
  
He flushed, “Do you think you could - “ he crooked a finger to beckon the other man over, hoping he’d come the rest of the way for him.  
  
“Shit - right. Yeah. Yes,” Grizz fumbled, shaking his head briefly before he cautiously crawled closer, within arms reach.  
  
When Grizz’s gaze met his, with so little distance between them, Sam’s heart caught in his throat, and it was his turn to stare for a moment, because this was the first time he’d really, truly, been face to face with his human.  
  
He’d _dreamt_ about this.  
  
He could almost count the freckles that crossed over the bridge of his nose and littered his flushed cheeks. He could see the tiny droplets of water that still clung to his dark lashes and the lengths of his hair…  
  
He said something, and Sam only caught the tail end of it when his gaze shifted to his lips.  
  
“I’m sorry - I missed what you said,” he admitted breathlessly.  
  
Grizz was looking at him with a different sort of curiosity, now - a sort of intrigued confusion that hadn’t been there before, “I asked how it looks,” he repeated.  
  
_Right._  
  
Sam licked his lips and forced his attention to focus on the wound, reaching up to gingerly explore the area for any swelling or tenderness.  
  
Grizz only winced slightly at the pressure of Sam’s touches but, aside from that, it didn’t seem to bother him too much.  
  
“It’s going to bruise, but I think you’ll live,” Sam assured him with a grin.  
  
Grizz blinked, “Thanks to you,” he muttered, and the words were like a revelation. He seemed calmer, now, but no less awestruck by the situation in which he found himself.  
  
Sam’s smile softened and he gave a little shrug.  
  
“Seriously,” Grizz insisted, “Thank you.”  
  
Sam nodded, “You’re welcome.”  
  
Grizz’s gaze shifted to look out over the angry ocean, and he was still for a moment, watching the powerful storm rage on, “How am I gonna get back?” he wondered aloud.  
  
Sam, luckily, was sort of unable to look away from Grizz, so, he caught his musings, “I’ll help you.”  
  
Grizz frowned, “Someone’ll see you.”  
  
Sam grinned to himself, “ _You_ didn’t,” he muttered, without really thinking.  
  
“What?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Oh - I thought you said something. I couldn’t hear you over the, uh…” he gestured toward the sky, “The thunder.”  
  
Well, _that_ was lucky.  
  
Sam gave a nod, choosing to just pretend that he hadn’t said anything at all, “Once the storm dies down, I’ll help you get back in past the break,” Sam explained, “Hopefully you can get yourself to shore from there…?”  
  
Grizz nodded, “Yeah, shouldn’t be a problem.” Silence settled between them, and Sam began to wonder what would happen once Grizz returned to shore. Would Sam see him again? Would he avoid the bay altogether, now that he knew what lurked below the surface?  
  
Would he return with nets and fishermen, the way Becca had said he would?  
  
Sam peered over at the human next to him, who was, surprisingly, staring back at him.  
  
Sam smirked, “What?”  
  
“What do I call you?” he asked.  
  
Sam quirked an eyebrow, “Sam.”  
  
“No - I know _that_ ,” Grizz scoffed, shaking his head and laughing despite himself, “I mean...you don’t like mermaid - “  
  
“I’m not a girl.”  
  
“Mer _man_?”  
  
“God, no.”  
  
Grizz raised his eyebrows expectantly, “So...what, then?”  
  
Sam considered this, because they didn’t necessarily refer to themselves by one name in particular. Sam knew that there were a lot of different terms used to describe his species - some he liked more than others.  
  
“I’ve always liked muruch best - “ he did the best he could with the word, which was difficult to pronounce aloud, given that he’d never really done it before, “Mer-whatever just sounds...childish,” he wrinkled his nose.  
  
“Siren,” Grizz stated excitedly.  
  
Sam tilted his head, not sure he understood what the man meant.  
  
“ _Muruch_ \- it’s Gaelic. It means siren,” he beamed, eyes bright with newfound enthusiasm, “Do you...have you ever heard of Homer?”  
  
Sam shook his head.  
  
“He was a writer,” Grizz explained, shifting so that he could better face Sam while he told his story, “Like, from a long time ago - we’re talking thousands of years - but he used to write about sirens in his stories. They were different, though. Like, the complete opposite of you, actually.”  
  
“Really?” Sam smiled, intrigued.  
  
“Yeah. They were half bird instead of, uhm...you know. Fish.”  
  
Sam sat up in interest, “They could fly?”  
  
“Yeah! I mean, I would assume they could, if they were real. Maybe they were. I never really took anything he wrote as, like, being factual - but here you are,” he laughed, “So, maybe you come from some sort of evolutionary line that dates all the way back to the sirens that Homer wrote about! That would be...fucking _wild_.”  
  
“We have our own theories about where we come from, you know,” Sam pointed out.  
  
“Yeah, totally - of course you do,” Grizz nodded, “I’d love to hear them. If you want, I mean. I get it if you, like...don’t want to tell me anything. Or can’t.”  
  
Sam was surprised - thrilled, but surprised, “This isn’t too weird for you...?”  
  
“Yeah. It’s been a shock, for sure, but it’s also...I don’t know. Amazing.”  
  
“I’m amazing?” Sam grinned.  
  
“Absolutely,” Grizz confirmed, grinning back at him.  
  
Sam raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight that was obstructing his view of the other man. Realizing what that meant, he glanced out over the water and saw that the storm had passed and the clouds were beginning to dissipate, “The storm’s cleared,” he muttered, pointing out to sea.  
  
Grizz, too, looked out over the water, “Ah, yeah. I should get back. Let the guys know I’m okay.”  
  
“Probably,” Sam smiled.  
  
“Are you around here a lot?” Grizz asked, “I saw you before…”  
  
Sam was glad that Grizz brought up meeting again, because Sam didn’t want to push him, “Sometimes,” he lied, knowing full well that he visited the bay almost obsessively in hopes of seeing Grizz, specifically.  
  
“Okay…” Grizz mused, “If I come back tomorrow, will you be around? You can tell me about your evolutionary theories and stuff. A-and you can ask me anything you want, too. We can, like...swap species knowledge.”  
  
“I could be...” Sam ventured, hesitant, Becca’s warnings ringing alarm bells in the back of his mind.  
  
“It’ll just be me,” Grizz assured him, “Luke and Clark have to work, so, we weren’t planning on coming out tomorrow.”  
  
Sam wanted to agree wholeheartedly, with no hesitation, but he knew that this was a risk. He was putting his trust in a man he hardly knew.  
  
He was putting his life on the line, just to see him again.  
  
“Just you,” Sam reiterated, and Grizz nodded, his expression hopeful.  
  
Sam bit his lip - how was he supposed to say no?  
  
“Okay,” he agreed with a bright smile, “I’ll be here.”  
  
“Yeah?” Grizz beamed.  
  
“Yeah. By the buoy,” Sam promised.  
  
And, just like that, Sam had not only revealed himself entirely to the human who had captured his attention, but he was also going to tell him all about who and what he was, and where he came from, and they were going to learn about and from each other.  
  
How had this happened?  
  
How had he _allowed_ this to happen?  
  
Becca was going to kill him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry about the wait <3

Sam went ahead and made the executive decision to not tell Becca about what had happened, or about his plans for the following morning.

For one, he didn’t particularly feel like being murdered.

For another, he didn’t want to involve her if this did turn out to be a mistake.

Sam had a hard time even considering the possibility that Grizz had any intention of hurting him, but it was something that had to be in the back of his mind. He’d witnessed the cruelty of humans far too many times to completely disregard their species’ capacity for it. They were inherently selfish creatures who had no respect for any other being.

Sam was as aware of that as the rest of his people.

It was part of why they’d kept themselves a secret for so long. They knew that, as a whole, men couldn’t be trusted.

But Sam’s gut told him that Grizz was different.

At least, he wanted to believe he was.

That didn’t mean that he wasn’t at least a little anxious when he returned to the bay the following morning to rendezvoux with the human man.

He was surprised to see that Grizz was already there, waiting for him, with a pack resting on the board in front of him. Just seeing him, and that sweet smile, set Sam’s mind immediately at ease.

“Eager, are we?” Sam teased, signing while he spoke - more out of habit than anything, because he knew that Grizz wouldn’t understand it.

“Aren’t you?” Grizz countered with a grin.

Sam gave a nod, because of course he was. Of course Grizz would be, too. This was the first extended contact either of them had had with anything like the other. It was monumental.

It was _exciting_.

“I brought you something,” Grizz informed him, and Sam tilted his head curiously.

He tried to sneak a peek when Grizz reached into his bag to pull out a make-shift sort of book. It was crudely bound with metal rings, and the pages were covered in a sort of plastic protective layer - presumably to keep them from getting wet.

Sam beamed, reaching for the gift, “What is it?” he asked, eyes scanning through the document.

“Homer,” Grizz informed him proudly, “It’s called The Odyssey. I didn’t have time to get you all of it, because of the laminating and all - “

“Laminating?” Sam repeated, unfamiliar with the term.

“Oh! Right - the, uh...the plastic,” he explained, reaching out to tap against one of the pages.

“Oh,” Sam mouthed, a permanent smile fixed across his features, because Grizz had brought him a present.

“And the books are all, like, insanely long, so, this is just the part that mentions the sirens,” Grizz went on, “I can print off more for you, if you like it,” he offered.

Sam beamed up at him, then flipped through the pages, scanning over the words. He didn’t want to start it now, because he wanted to talk to Grizz and be present during whatever time he had with him, but he was thrilled to have something to remind him of the other man when he had to return home.

“Thank you,” he breathed, carefully setting the gift aside on the bouy for now.

Grizz smiled back at him, thrilled that Sam liked it so much, “You’re welcome.”

“I didn’t know we were supposed to bring gifts,” Sam informed him apologetically, “Is that custom for your people?”

Grizz shook his head, but then pursed his lips, “I mean. Sometimes, I guess, but not regularly. We have, like...holidays and certain occasions when we’d bring gifts and stuff as, like, a courtesy, but it’s not a normal thing you have to do when you visit someone, no.”

Sam folded his arms on the bouy, “What kinds of occasions?”

“Like, parties and stuff. If something big happened - like when someone gets married. Do you guys have marriage…?”

Sam shook his head, but then paused thoughtfully, “Maybe? I don’t know what that is. Sorry,” he chuckled, because it seemed like, already, he didn’t understand a lot of what Grizz was just mentioning in passing.

“Don’t be - it’s all good. It’s, like…” he paused, brow furrowing, “It’s...Okay, when two people fall in love, I guess, they can decide that they want to like...be tied to each other in a formal way. Marriage makes it so that they belong to each other, I guess. Officially. They get a license and go through all sorts of paperwork that says, y’know, they’re a pair. It’s sort of like a really intense, legally binding promise to be, like...devoted to only each other for the rest of their lives. Does that make sense?”

Sam blinked, “And people do that willingly?” he frowned, wrinkling his nose.

He had to have misunderstood something, because it didn’t sound like something worth celebrating. It sounded controlling and restrictive.

It sounded like it took a feeling like love - something beautiful and freeing and _romantic_ \- and turned it into something contractual. He didn’t like the sound of it one bit.

Grizz laughed, “I mean, yeah. It’s supposed to be this grand, romantic gesture - “

“It doesn’t sound romantic,” Sam pointed out.

Grizz wrinkled his nose with a crooked grin, “No, I guess it doesn’t when you lay it all out like that. Maybe I’m just not explaining it right…”  
“Or maybe your people just don’t understand romance,” Sam suggested, eyes glinting mischievously.

Grizz exhaled between pursed lips and ran his fingers through his hair, chuckling, “You’re not wrong,” he admitted and, though he was sure that Grizz meant his words as a joke, Sam could also see that some part of him was serious, and it piqued his interest.

“Are _you_ married?” Sam asked. He still didn’t fully understand the concept of marriage, let alone the practice of it, and something about Grizz’s reaction made Sam wonder what experiences the human had had with love.

“Me? No - God, no,” Grizz assured him, “I’m not - I mean. I haven’t even come close to finding the right person. I think I’d like to be, someday.”

“Really?”

Grizz gave a little shrug, “Yeah, I mean...yeah. I kinda like the idea of belonging to someone. Being, like...important to them, and stuff.”

Sam tilted his head, “Can’t you have that without being _bound_ to them?”

“I guess so,” the corner of Grizz’s mouth tucked up, tugging his lips to one side in a charming sort of look of consideration, “I guess I just get caught up in the idea of it. Having someone care enough to want to, y’know...really commit, I suppose.”

“But if they loved you, they wouldn’t need some weird contract to prove that they’re committed to you. They should already _be_ committed - and you should know that they are. If their devotion is in question at all, you shouldn’t be with them in the first place,” Sam insisted hurriedly - stubbornly.

Grizz narrowed his eyes at him, and Sam worried that he’d said something wrong, even though he stood by what he’d said.

But then Grizz grinned, “You got me there,” he conceded, and Sam beamed back at him proudly.

“What about your people,” Grizz continued, dragging his hands lazily through the water to help keep him in place by the buoy, “Do you have anything like that? Like marriage?”

Sam thought about it for a moment, “I suppose our leaders do,” he mused, “But that’s all based on politics and strategy and alliances. It has nothing to do with love.”

“Maybe that’s why you’re so skeptical of our version,” Grizz suggested.

“No, yours still sounds weird,” Sam assured him.

Grizz feigned offence and splashed water in Sam’s direction, drawing a laugh out of him.

“The rest of us just…” Sam shrugged, “Fall in love. That’s usually enough,” he smiled.

Grizz smiled back, “Have you?”

“Have I what?”

“Fallen in love.”

Sam considered Grizz for a moment, resting his cheek against his forearm as he looked up at the dark haired human he’d only just met.

He shook his head, “Not yet.”

“Why not?”

Sam smiled, “Haven’t come close to meeting the right person,” he explained, parroting Grizz’s earlier words back to him.

In a perfect world, Sam couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he and Grizz could’ve become that person to each other. In a world where Sam were human, he liked to think that he could’ve been with someone like Grizz. He was certainly attracted to him, of that much he was sure.

Falling in love with him seemed like it would be far too easy.

Dangerously so.

Because this was not a perfect world, and Sam was not human, but Grizz was still painfully easy to fall for.

Hell, Sam had been halfway gone for him before they’d even spoken.

Whereas Grizz was only interested in him _because_ of what he was.

If he’d been human, Grizz maybe would have towed him to safety that day when they’d first met, and that would have been that.

“I’m sure you will,” Grizz assured him, and Sam didn’t miss the way his eyes flicked over his features, taking him in, “You’ll have no trouble,” he decided.

“What makes you so sure?” Sam fished, wanting to hear what Grizz was thinking.

Grizz rolled his eyes, “C’mon - like you don’t know.”

“Know what?” Sam asked innocently, feigning ignorance.

“You’re - “ Grizz gestured vaguely toward him, “Obviously good-looking.”

Sam grinned, “Obviously?”

“Yes, _obviously_. Don’t let it go to your head,” he warned teasingly.

Sam tucked that away for later - the knowledge that Grizz thought he was attractive. It wasn’t necessarily an admission that he _himself_ was attracted to Sam, specifically, but it was an acknowledgement of the fact that he noticed his appearance and approved of it, and that was good enough.

He wanted to return the compliment - wanted to let Grizz know that he was, quite possibly, the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, but he worried that it wouldn’t seem genuine following Grizz’s remarks.

And he didn’t want to scare the human away.

So, he kept that thought to himself.

Someday, maybe, he would tell him.

“So, uh...can I ask you about some things?” Grizz asked, “About you and your, uhm...your people, I mean.”

Sam nodded, “Go ahead.”

“Okay,” Grizz beamed, “How old are you?”

“Twenty-two.”

Grizz blinked and seemed to deflate, his smile faltering a little in confusion, “Oh. Really?”

Sam quirked an eyebrow, tilting his head with a grin, “Yeah. Why is that so surprising?”

Grizz’s pale cheeks turned a wonderful shade of pink, and Sam’s smile grew, “I don’t know - I kind of just assumed that you’d be, like...I don’t know. Ageless, or something. It’s stupid.”

Sam laughed, “You thought we were immortal?”

“No!” Grizz insisted defensively before he grinned sheepishly, “Maybe. I don’t know. You’re my first mermaid - give me a break.”

“Siren!”

“Same thing,” Grizz teased.

Sam glared up at him, “Next question.”

Grizz chuckled, “Alright, uhm...where do you come from? Like, we have Gods and religions that try to help us explain and understand where we come from. Do you have a God? Or Gods?”

Sam shrugged, “We have stories,” he explained, “They change depending on who you ask, or where they come from, but we all have similar versions of the same story to explain how we got here - why we’re different from you.”

Grizz reached for the buoy and pulling himself closer, “Can you tell it to me?”

“It’s probably bullshit,” Sam warned.

Grizz offered a crooked grin, “Doesn’t matter,” he assured him, eyes brightened by intrigue.

Sam couldn’t help but smile back, “Alright,” he sighed, licking his lips before he began telling the story he’d grown up hearing about where they had come from, and how they’d come to be ocean dwelling beings, rather than landlocked humans.

Their story was a sad one - a story of the darkest, cruellest form of love, and how it could destroy a person. It was about escape and sanctuary.

It was about a woman who loved a fisherman who was incapable of caring for her in the same way - a man who was senselessly cruel to her without ever understanding that he held liquid gold in his hands whenever he touched her.

She had been the first of her kind. A woman who existed between two worlds - between land and sea, and the sea had always been her escape. A safe haven. A comfort.

Her lover could see how the sea called to her, drawing her deeper and deeper each time she left his side, so he had tried to lock her away - to keep her from it.

Storms raged on and on, for days on end, and the longer she was kept away, the worse they became, destroying ships, killing men and beasts, but still he kept her from the tumultuous tide.

As time passed, she began to fade and became a shell of her former self - pale, her skin drying and cracking. She needed the sea they way it needed her.

And land, as it seemed, had become nothing more than a prison.

One night, as the storm reached a merciless peak, shattering the windows of the fisherman’s home, fighting to set her free, she drew strength from the storm and fought alongside it.

She ran from him, up onto the cliffs outside and, when he came after her in a rage, she pushed him from the edge into the unforgiving waters below.

As the storm began to clear, she made her way down to the water’s edge, wading out and, as she did, her bruises began to heal, the cracks in her skin filled, and she became whole again in every way a person could become whole.

“And she vowed that day that she would never set foot on land ever again,” he finished, “Hence, the muruch were born.”

Grizz stared at him, entranced, “Wow,” he breathed.

Sam flushed.

“And you don’t believe it?”

Sam wrinkled his nose, “Not really. I mean, how could she have created an entire species if she was the only one of her kind to begin with?” he pointed out, raising his eyebrow.

Grizz considered this, “I mean. We have a version of our story where women were created from a man’s rib.”

“ _What_?”

“Yeah.”

“How?”

Grizz shrugged, laughing, “Beats me - I don’t buy it. But maybe your Goddess did something like that.”

“Maybe your God stole our Goddess’ idea.”

“Hey - if we’re going off of your story’s timeline, _we_ came first. So, if anybody stole and anyone’s idea...” he trailed off, pointing an accusatory finger in Sam’s direction.

“Yeah, yeah,” Sam grinned, waving him off.

Grizz looked out over the water, his playful grin softening into a more earnest smile, “It’s a beautiful story, though. Sad, but…” he shrugged, “Beautiful.”

“I suppose so…” Sam agreed begrudgingly.

Grizz looked back at him, “You don’t seem so sure.”

Sam shrugged, “I guess she and I just want different things,” he mused.

The human’s brow furrowed, “What do you mean?”

“I mean...I love the sea, I’m proud of where I come from, but sometimes…” he shook his head, “I don’t know. I would’ve liked to have the option to go ashore if I wanted to - whenever I wanted to. She was able to go back and forth, and she gave it all up because of one man. Now we’re the ones who are trapped, you know? It’s like she saved herself, but punished us.”

Grizz gave a nod, “Yeah, that...sucks. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not _your_ fault,” Sam teased with a smile.

“I know - I just didn’t think of it that way. Like, we have boats and submarines and scuba diving. We have all of these methods that give us the option to visit and explore. It didn’t occur to me that you can’t do the same.”

“Yeah, well...it is what it is, I guess,” Sam murmured, resting his chin on his arms.

The pair sat in silence for a moment, the air just the slightest bit heavier between them.

After a while, Grizz reached out to tap his arm to get his attention, “Next question?” he offered.

Sam smiled, nodding, grateful for the change of subject, “Next question.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm full of excuses that no one wants to hear, so, let's just jump right into it, shall we?  
> (i am sorry about the wait. unfortunately, classes start up again right away, so, it'll probably be more like this for the next little while :()

They carried on meeting like this for days, weeks, to come.

Sam still hadn’t told Becca about any of it - not about the storm, certainly not about the secret meetings he and Grizz had continued to have following the rescue. He knew that she wouldn’t approve, and he just wanted to have this for himself. He wanted to keep it for as long as he could, because he knew that it couldn’t go on forever.

Becca was no idiot, however, and she quickly figured out that Sam had been returning to the bay, despite his promises not to. Even that had caused an argument between them.

If she knew the truth, if she knew what was really going on, Sam just knew that she would never let it go.

He just wished that he could tell her, because he needed someone to talk to. He needed some way to outlet the overwhelming affection he felt toward this unattainable human man who recited the words of scholars and poets from memory whilst he sunned himself on his board, eyes closed lazily to block out the glare of the sun while they exchanged stories about themselves, about their people, about what they loved, and hated, and wanted.

Sam was never completely honest about what he wanted.

Because he wanted too many things that he couldn’t have.

Things like Grizz.

He wanted him so badly - more and more each time he saw him, each time they spoke. Every moment they spent just killing time, enjoying each other’s company, teasing and playing and laughing.

Sam wanted him so badly it hurt.

“I have an idea,” Grizz proposed one day, grinning excitedly up at Sam from where he lay on his board, stomach down, arms dangling in the water.

“What kind of idea?” Sam tilted his head, unable to keep from smiling back at the dark haired human.

“I was thinking I could maybe rent some diving gear so we could, like...I don’t know. Go somewhere else. You can give me the grand tour of the area - from your side of things, I mean,” he suggested.

Sam’s smile faltered, his mind immediately racing with fears of running into Becca - or worse: Campbell, “You want to come below the surface?”  
“Well, yeah,” Grizz pushed himself up, frowning slightly at Sam’s reaction, “It doesn’t seem fair that you always have to come to me.”

“We do it that way because _I_ can breathe up here - you can’t breathe under water.”

“That’s that the diving gear is for,” Grizz pointed out. His smile had all but dissipated completely, “I thought you’d be into it.”

“I am!” Sam assured him quickly, “I am - I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

Grizz laughed, “I’ve been diving before, Sam. I know what I’m doing.”  
 _It’s not the dive I’m worried about._

“Yeah, but...what if something goes wrong?“

“Have a little faith,” Grizz teased, “Besides: you’ll be with me. You’re my back-up chute.”

“I have no idea what that means,” Sam reminded him casually. He’d become accustomed to good-naturedly pointing out when Grizz referenced some human thing that Sam knew nothing about. It had become second nature to both of them to do their best to accommodate their differences in order to better understand each other.

“Skydiving. You go up in a plane and jump out and take a spare parachute in case the primary one doesn’t open,” Grizz explained offhandedly.

Sam shook his head incredulously, “Humans are so stupid.”

“Yup,” Grizz agreed, shrugging, “It’s pretty awesome, though.”

“You’ve done it?!”

“Yeah - we went the summer after graduation.”

“You have a death wish.”

Grizz just smirked back at him, “So, is that a yes to the diving idea, or…?”

Sam rolled his eyes, but couldn’t keep the fond smile off of his face. He’d discovered very quickly that it was hard to say no to Grizz, “Fine. But I pick where we go!”

“Of course - it’s your tour.”

“And how long we go for.”

“I mean, I’ll have a limited amount of oxygen, but sure.”

Sam narrowed his eyes, “How limited?”

“I can only be down there for, like...an hour tops.”

Sam hummed. That wasn’t very long.

But, then again, Sam didn’t want Grizz to be down there for too long. The longer he was below the surface with him, the higher the chances became of the pair being seen together. Campbell would never come to the surface - but below it, all bets were off.

The shorter the excursion, the better, “Okay,” he agreed.

“Okay?” Grizz repeated hopefully.

Sam smiled, trying to be optimistic about the idea. Risks and personal fears aside, Sam loved the idea of having Grizz below the surface with him - in the water with him. As much as they had talked and gotten to know each other, they hadn’t really interacted physically beyond that first day during the storm.

Sam was sort of dying to be close to him again.

“I’d love to give you a tour,” Sam confirmed, and Grizz lit up.

“Tomorrow?” Grizz suggested.

Sam smiled, nodding, “Sure.”

Grizz beamed, “It’s a date.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once he and Grizz parted, however, Sam was a bundle of nerves.

Was this a bad idea?

He was absolutely terrified by the idea of having Grizz just that much closer to being in Campbell’s territory.

Not just that: he would be there with Sam and, while Sam was comforted only the tiniest bit by the idea that he’d be there to keep Grizz safe, he knew that the fact that the human would be with him only made it that much more dangerous for him.

Campbell didn’t like Sam getting close to anyone, let alone a _human_.

If he saw them together, it would be disastrous. There would be no way Sam would be able to protect Grizz. Campbell was faster than him, stronger than him. Campbell was a fucking monster.

If he wanted someone, or something, dead, there was no stopping him.

Sam hated to imagine what he would do to Grizz.

But, at the same time, Sam was so excited to have Grizz beneath the surface with him. He was excited to be in his element, to show off what he could do, and his home. To show Grizz all the things he was missing up above.

Sam was in too deep already.

He knew that.

But he couldn’t bring himself to stop. It was impossible to imagine going back to a life without Grizz in it.

So, despite his qualms, Sam met Grizz the next day. This time, rather than having his board, Grizz had a small boat tethered to the buoy - _their_ buoy. He was already mostly geared up and ready to go, his swimsuit hanging around his waist for the time being while he waited for Sam.

Sam surfaced next to the buoy and Grizz beamed down at him, “Ready?”

“Are you?” Sam countered, eying the odd-looking equipment warily. It was alarming to think that a mask and a tiny metal container were all that would stand between his human and suffocation.

“Yup. All set,” Grizz confirmed, tugging his suit up over his arms and shoulders. He leaned over to set his mask and tank on the buoy, “If I come down there do you think you could zip me up?”

Sam swallowed, nodding. He didn’t completely understand what ‘zip me up’ meant, but he trusted that Grizz would explain it. He’d gotten good at knowing when he needed to explain things to Sam.

Grizz climbed out of the boat, onto the buoy, then slipped into the water next to where Sam hovered. He held on with one hand, the other treading water, and grinned, “Hey.”

“Hi,” Sam smiled, “It’s weird seeing you like this,” he signed teasingly while he spoke, “I’m used to having to look up at you all the time.”

“Good weird, though, right?” Grizz clarified.

Sam gave a nod, “Really good.”

“Cool. So, uh...I’m gonna have to turn around - there’s just a metal, like...tab sort of thing on the back of the suit. Just grab that and pull it up and it’ll close the back.”

“Metal tab. Got it.”

“It’s just right at the bottom of the opening - can’t miss it.”

Sam swallowed, “Okay.”

With the instructions clear as mud, Grizz turned and Sam surveyed his back, taking maybe a bit longer than was strictly necessary, because he was always taken aback by how beautiful Grizz was - how smooth his skin was.

Unable to help himself, he reached out and let his fingers run along the opening on the suit, his fingertips brushing against the human’s skin as he traced his way down to his lower back and found the tab he’d been referring to. He hoped that Grizz would simply assume that he was mapping things out, and he was grateful that the other man’s back was turned so that he wouldn’t see the flush in his cheeks from such a simple, insignificant touch.

He grasped the tab and closed the suit, tapping his shoulder once he was through, “Got it.”

When Grizz turned back to him, Sam couldn’t help but notice that his cheeks were also flushed pink as he reached to tuck his hair back behind his ear, “Thanks.”

“Anytime.”  
Grizz reached for the ladder and climbed back up onto the buoy to put on the rest of his gear before he, once again, joined Sam in the water, “Ready when you are,” he informed him brightly before he pulled the mask over his face, giving Sam a thumbs up.

Sam smiled, eyes flicking to the tiny tank one more time before he dipped below the surface, letting himself sink, watching while Grizz did the same.

“Everything okay?” Sam asked.

Grizz nodded.

Sam knew, then, that he wanted to swim _with_ Grizz, not ahead of him. He wanted to be able to see him, and interact with him. So, he waited for Grizz to join him before they headed off into the depths of the bay together.

It wasn’t what Sam had imagined it would be. He knew that Grizz would be slower than him, and he knew that Grizz wouldn’t be able to communicate with him all that well below the surface, but, perhaps worst of all, seeing Grizz, barely recognizable as the boy Sam had become infatuated with, swimming along through the depths to the best of his human ability just served as a reminder to Sam that they came from two very different worlds, and that this thing he wanted to be between them could never really happen.

He’d just...thought it would be different.

He didn’t like that he couldn’t really see Grizz’s face - his expressions, his mannerisms. He didn’t like that he couldn’t watch how his lips moved around the words he spoke. He didn’t like that his human couldn’t smile, or laugh.

It just wasn’t as magical as Sam had imagined it would be.

Sam wondered if, maybe, when this was through, Grizz would want to just stay and swim with him near the surface - where he could breathe and be himself, fully and completely.

Because he did enjoy having him this close, this accessible. He wondered if Grizz would want to come down off of his board from now on.

He was thinking of this, and of Grizz, when he spotted _him_ \- little more than an ominous shadow in the distance, too far for Grizz’s human eyes to see in the murky depths, but Sam saw him. Sam had been watching for him.

He swam in front of Grizz, shielding him from view, “Hide,” he instructed and, even though the infuriating mask, Sam could see his frown, “Trust me,” he pleaded.

Grizz gave a nod before he peered around, finding a reef nearby that would be large enough to shield him. He made his way to it as Sam turned to head off his brother.

Campbell must have spotted him, too, because he was moving faster, now - slicing through the water furiously to make his way to him. Sam had barely raised his hands to speak before Campbell’s hand was at his throat, slamming him back against the reef beneath which Grizz was hiding, “Where the fuck have you been?”

Sam reached up to grasp Campbell’s wrist, pulling the hand away, “Fishing,” he signed.

“The fuck do you mean ‘fishing’ - we have fish. We don’t fucking need any fish.”

Sam shrugged, “I thought we could use more.”

“You were with someone.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Cut the shit, Sam, I saw them. Who was it?”

Sam shook his head, swallowing, “There was no one. I promise. A dolphin went by earlier - maybe that was what you saw.”

“A dolphin?” Campbell repeated flatly, and Sam gave another nod.

Campbell tilted his head, considering Sam silently before he peered around, surveying the area. Sam nearly held his breath while he waited to see what Campbell would do next.

“Wrap it up,” Campbell said finally, “And you’re staying home tonight - no stopping at Becca’s. You can’t pull this kind of shit. You know that. I was worried.”

“Okay. I’m sorry.”

“S’fine. I’ll see you at home. You better catch me something good,” he warned.

Sam gave another short nod and, with that, Campbell swam off.

But Sam knew better than to think he was really gone. He waited for a moment before he swam around the back of the reef, wriggling beneath to get to where Grizz was hiding.

“Safe?” The human signed slowly - he didn’t know much, but Sam had taught him some in the time that they’d known each other.

He shook his head, “Not yet.”

Grizz reached for something, then - a dial with numbers all around the outer rim. A tiny, needle-like arm was hovering near a red area on the dial, on the edge of the zero marker.

Sam’s eyes widened in alarm, “You’re out of oxygen?!” He deduced, horrified.

“Close,” Grizz signed.

Sam wanted to demand to know how he’d let that happen, why he hadn’t told Sam that he needed to go back. Instead, he cursed, swimming out of the reef momentarily to check for Campbell. He squinted through the distance and saw a familiar shadow hovering just at the edge of his field of view.

That had to be him.

He was still lingering - keeping an eye on him.

Sam made a show of swimming around the reef, making it look like he was hunting, before he swam back to where Grizz was hiding. He had an idea. He’d heard stories - rumours. There was something they could try, but he’d never done it before himself.

He didn’t know for certain that it would even work, but what choice did they have? Grizz was out of oxygen, and if he came out of hiding now, with Campbell lurking, he would be killed.

It was worth a try.

He returned to Grizz, who was focusing on limiting the breaths he took.

Sam touched the mask, “Take this off,” he instructed with as much confidence as he could muster.

Grizz eyes widened and he shook his head.

Sam reached out to cup his face in his hands, “Trust me,” he asked again, his heart racing as he hoped to whatever God there was that the stories about them were true - that this worked because, if it didn’t…

He didn’t know how he was going to save his human this time.

Grizz hesitated (with good reason) but, understanding that his options were limited, he did as he was told. Sam’s heart fluttered in his chest when Grizz removed the mask and he could _see_ him again.

Grizz was willingly putting his life in Sam’s hands, and Sam could only hope that he wouldn’t let him down.

Again, Sam took the human’s face in his hands, and Grizz’s brow furrowed as he blinked in confusion.

Slowly and deliberately, Sam leaned in, murmuring one final, “Trust me,” before he sealed his lips over Grizz’s.

He lingered for a moment (only a moment), reveling in the feeling of Grizz’s lips against his before he breathed into their strange kiss - into the human himself.

After a moment or two, after the breath was exhausted, Grizz jerked away in surprise.

Sam watched him carefully, waiting, holding his own breath.

And then Grizz took a breath.

The human’s eyes widened in alarm and his hand flew up to cover his mouth. A few seconds passed before he tentatively lowered it and took another experimental breath.

He lit up, “What the _fuck_ ,” he beamed, “Why didn’t we just do that from the start?”

Sam laughed, his entire body sagging in relief, “It worked.”

“Yeah, it wor - wait, you weren’t sure it would work?!”

“It’s fine. I was pretty sure it would - I’ve heard of people doing it.”

“You - “

Sam raised a finger to his lips, “Quiet. Campbell’s still lurking somewhere.”

Grizz glared at him.

“It’s gonna wear off,” Sam explained, “As soon as he’s gone, we’ll get you back to the buoy. Okay?”

“Alright.”

Sam hesitated, “I’m, uhm...I have to go check for him, but I should, you know...top you up before I leave you here. I don’t know how long it lasts, so...”

“Oh! Right, yeah. By all means,” Grizz nodded, and then he reached out to place his hands on Sam’s waist, and that was just…

A lot.

Sam bit back a grin before he leaned in to, once again, press his lips against Grizz’s, once again breathing into him for a few, far too brief seconds before he pulled away.

“I’ll be right back,” he promised, and Grizz nodded.

“I’ll be here.”

Sam swam up over the reef once more to check for his brother, scanning the area thoroughly. He saw no sign of him, but he knew he couldn’t be too careful. Now that Grizz wasn’t in immediate danger of drowning, he wanted to wait a bit longer.

Just to be safe.

Again, he circled around and back to Grizz, “I think he’s gone, but we’ll wait a bit longer, just to be sure.”

“Who is he?” Grizz asked, “Why was he talking to you like that?”

Sam sighed, “He’s my brother. It’s...complicated.”

“Complicated how?”

Sam swallowed, “Our parents were killed when we were younger. By fishermen. He’s…” He searched for the right word, “Protective.”

“That didn’t sound protective, Sam,” Grizz ventured worriedly.

“Look, I can handle my brother. I’ve been doing it my whole life. It’s fine.”

“But he’s obviously dangerous. That’s why you hid me, right?”

“To you, yes. He’d have killed you.”

Grizz’s eyes widened, “Sam - “

“We should top you up,” Sam interrupted, not wanting to talk about Campbell anymore. He pulled Grizz toward him and pressed their lips together, kissing him fiercely - because this one _was_ a kiss (at least at first). Grizz was taken aback, but Sam melted when he felt strong arms wrap around his waist, pulling him close.

Sam liked him _so much_ , and Grizz was being so sweet…

He just couldn’t help himself.

Eventually, he breathed into him one last time before he pulled away, licking his lips sheepishly, “Let’s get you home.”

Grizz swallowed thickly, “Okay...”


End file.
